The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage

The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage by Edgar Degas, executed between 1871 and 1877, is a highly complex and celebrated work that provides a candid glimpse into the demanding world of 19th-century ballet. While formally classified as a drawing, the piece demonstrates Degas’s radical experimentation with mixed media. The artist began with a detailed pen-and-ink drawing on cream-colored wove paper, subsequently overlaying it with oil colors freely mixed with turpentine, along with fine traces of watercolor and pastel. This composite layer was stabilized by laying the paper onto bristol board, which was then mounted on canvas.

This elaborate technique allowed Degas to capture the immediacy and atmosphere of the theater while retaining the precision of draftsmanship. Rather than depicting the final performance, the work focuses on the preparatory stages, showing groups of women dancers stretching and waiting under the supervision of a prominent male figure, likely an instructor or stage manager. Degas was fascinated by these moments of unguarded effort, treating the female dancers as professionals engaged in difficult physical labor.

This significant document of Parisian stage life resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is valued for its unique material composition and its key role in the Impressionist movement’s shift toward modern subject matter. The dynamic use of light and movement makes this canvas one of the artist’s most recognizable images. Due to its historical importance, high-quality prints and art reproductions of this seminal work are widely sought after, and versions of the image are often made available through public domain initiatives worldwide.